Webmaster Hardware Forum

As part of Dellís quality process, we have identified a potential issue with our service mother board stock... The potential issue involves a small number of PowerEdge server motherboards sent out through service dispatches that may contain malware. This malware code has been detected on the embedded server management firmware...

1. This issue does not affect any Dell PowerEdge servers shipped from our factories and is limited to a small number of the replacement motherboards only which were sent via Dellís service and replacement process for four servers: PowerEdge R310, PowerEdge R410, PowerEdge R510 and PowerEdge T410. The maximum potential exposure is less than 1% of these server models.

2. Dell has removed all impacted motherboards from the service supply. New shipping replacement stock does not contain the malware.

3. TheW32.Spybot worm was discovered in flash storage on the motherboard during Dell testing. The malware does not reside in the firmware.

4. All industry-standard antivirus programs on the market today have the ability to identify and prevent the code from infecting the customerís operating system.

This is not comparable with the average cross site scripting hack or even infecting USB sticks. Developing malware to be embedded in the firmware of a server line and being able to inject it somewhere in the logistical process of the repair stock requires knowledge, careful planning and people on crucial positions.

No argument there. However, what you are referring to is software. The way I see it, when you have a foreign country, any foreign country, supply hardware that will be used on equipment that could be put in computers used by the government, there is always a possibility that something malicious will happen.

Wow, this could be next generation espionage, where the brand new computer it self comes with infected codes.

imagine, if these codes are thought how to escape antivirus while the antivirus is being installed, and these codes has the ability to connect with computers with similar infection and if there are 100s of such computers already in the market, oh! we are talking about a supper computer hidden in the network to steal you..

I dont know, i just cant stop thinking on this, may be i should go and start writing a book or make film on this! :-)

Probably, and if you read the linked site, all the newly shipped motherboards are clean. The infection only appears on service parts which are likely to have gone through a refurbishment process inside the US.

This story is coming just a few weeks after the another widely reported story related to a lawsuit against Dell for a few million faulty motherboards in Dell Optiplex desktops. Dell shipped faulty motherboards to replace motherboards on PCs that have already failed. Large customers including the law firm defending the Dell in lawsuit were affected by the faulty computers due to the same defect.

iThink - if you build computers, that's not news. Many motherboards (new and refurbished) were plagued by leaking capacitors in the 2004 timeframe. I was running SETI@home when I first noticed my pc would reboot randomly. The problem was SETI@home caused my machine to run hot, thereby exposing the capacitor problem.

I do agree this is a national security concern. I don't care where they're made, but with these devices running our country, the exposure is enormous.

Cos we know the U.S. is never the source of any spam, viruses, malware... its always those scary foreigners

hmmm... seems I need to explain: That was sarcasm, my amazement at the speed of zenaphobic assumptive blame - over enquiry into the cause. Everything is not about national security and scary foreigners remotely controlling your toaster.